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[MARIJUANA] Uruguay's President To U.N. Official: ‘Stop Lying'

José “Pepe” Mujica shot back on Friday at the president of the International Narcotics Control Board, a U.N. agency, for saying that his administration refused to meet with the agency’s officials before legalizing marijuana this week.

Mujica batted down the criticism, insisting that his administration is open to discussing the law and accusing the INCB President Raymond Yans of applying a double standard by criticizing Uruguay, even as U.S. states pass laws to legalize recreational marijuana consumption.

“Tell this old guy not to lie,” Mujica told reporters, according to Colombian daily El Espectador. “Any guy in the street can meet with me. Let him come to Uruguay and meet with me whenever he wants… He thinks that because he’s in an international position, he can tell whatever lie he wants.”

Yans had said that the law passed by the Uruguayan legislature this week legalizing the consumption and government-controlled production and sale of marijuana would violate the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which Uruguay has signed.

The INCB president said on Wednesday he was “surprised” that the Uruguayan government “knowingly decided to break the universally agreed and internationally endorsed legal provisions of the treaty.

But Mujica dismissed the criticism as a double standard, pointing out that the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington have already legalized weed and that both of the states’ populations individually exceed Uruguay’s 3.4 million inhabitants.

“Do they have two discourses, one for Uruguay and another for those who are strong?” Mujica asked.

Uruguay’s Senate gave its final approval Monday to a law legalizing the consumption of marijuana creating a government-controlled market for the soft drug’s production and sale. Those wishing to smoke marijuana recreationally must register with the government and limit their intake to 40 grams per month, or whatever they can reap from up to six plants they may grow at home.

Mujica and his supporters argued that regulating marijuana consumption and production would take the profits out of the hands of criminals, rather than continuing using soldiers and police to enforce a prohibition policy that fails to keep people from smoking weed.

The United States has largely refrained from publicly criticizing Uruguay’s actions, though State Department Spokesman Pooja Jhunjhunwala also said the new law would violate the 1961 U.N. convention on drug control in comments to the Washington Post.

But Uruguay’s president said he’d faced international pressure, including from neighboring Brazil, for pushing ahead with his effort to end marijuana prohibition.

“There’s always going to be pressure,” Mujica told Brazilian daily A Folha de São Paulo before the law passed. “There’s an apparatus in the world that lives by repressing, and it costs a lot of money.”

Mad props to this guy for having the balls to give those fools the finger. its refreshing to find a politician who isn't willing to suckle at the teat of the establishment in order to get votes and stay in power. it may be political suicide, but he gets my respect for standing up for what he believes in.
and 'tell this old guy not to lie'. that was brilliant

it may be political suicide, but he gets my respect for standing up for what he believes in.
and 'tell this old guy not to lie'. that was brilliant

Click to expand...

I don't think he'll have to worry too much. Although I've never been to Uruguay, I've been around South America. I wouldn't say the people there have a higher opinion of drugs than in NA or Europe, but there seems to be more awareness of the fact that many problems attributed to them are actually caused or at least aggravated by the prohibition. And smoking weed is quite common among the rural population which in most parts of the world is more conservative concerning this matter. Especially the gauchos grow and smoke tons.

There seems to be a growing movement to force the U S and other Drug Warring Countries to open their eyes to just how faulty and failing their Drug Wars are.

THE DRUG PROBLEM IN THE AMERICAS
"We, the region’s leaders, held an invaluable discussion on the global drug problem. We agreed on the need to analyze the results of the current policy in the Americas and to explore new approaches to strengthen this struggle and to become more effective. We have issued the OAS a mandate to that end." (Closing Statement of the President of the Republic of Colombia,
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, Sixth Summit of the Americas,
Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, April 15, 2012)
Argentina
The Supreme Court of Argentina unanimously found paragraph 2 of Article 14 of the National Drug Law (Law No. 23.737), which had punished possession of drugs for personal use with deprivation of liberty, subject to substitution with educational measures or treatment, to be unconstitutional. The Argentine legislature is currently rewriting the law to comply with the Supreme Court ruling and to expand it to cover other substances besides cannabis.

Mexico
Articles 477 to 480 of the General Health Law, as amended in 2009, state that the Office of the Public Prosecutor (Ministerio Público) will not prosecute the consumer for the unauthorized possession of substances in quantities deemed to be for personal use, though the arrestee can be held pre-trial. The government authority is required to inform the individual of treatment facilities available as well as record the incident and provide information to the health facilities.5Quantities determined for personal
use are established in Article 479: 5 grams of cannabis, 2 grams of opium, 0.5 grams of cocaine, 50 milligrams of heroin, .015 milligrams of LSD, or 40 milligrams of methamphetamine.

Chile
Under Article 4 of Law 20.000 of 2005, the unauthorized possession of a small amount of substances destined for personal use is not punished. The unauthorized public use of substances is considered an infraction under Article 50, and punished with fines, community service, or attendance at drug abuse prevention programs. Whether the quantity in a specific case is for personal use is determined by the court.

Brazil
The Drug Law changed in 2006 in an effort to reduce penalties for drug users and increase those for drug dealers. Under Article 28 of Law 11.343 of 2006, the unauthorized possession
(including acquisition and transport) of substances for personal consumption is considered a criminal offense. However, it is not penalized with deprivation of liberty but rather with drug abuse education,
community service, and/or obligatory attendance in drug abuse programs for up to five months for a first offense. The court may apply verbal warnings and fines to ensure attendance. Quantities determined for personal use are at the discretion of the court.